by rossanahead | Feb 19, 2017 | gender equality, Investment, woman
If you believe that it’s only in emerging economies like the Philippines that issues such as double standards, gender-related salary imbalance, and the glass ceiling still exist, think again.
Globally, in both developed and developing countries, “girls and women battle commonly held views and beliefs that limit their opportunities and potential,” including myths such as “women are better suited for baby-making than money-making,” says Katja Iversen, CEO of Women Deliver, a global advocate for investing in the health, rights, and well-being of girls and women.
“The truth is, women around the world are resourceful economic agents, overcoming persistent, gender-based barriers every day,” says Iversen in a recent article for the World Economic Forum entitled “7 Myth-Busting Reasons We Should be Investing in women.”
She adds that women have demonstrated they can build informal and formal businesses out of very little capital, create networks to maximize limited resources, all while shouldering the traditional responsibilities placed upon them, duties like child- and home-care.
“Women succeed in spite of laws, policies and institutions that hold them back, but it is a constant struggle. It is time to create supportive environments for women to thrive economically, and bust these myths once and for all,” she declares.
In her article, she cites several myths that continue to “rob women of their power to advance themselves, their families, their communities, and ultimately, their nations.”
The myth: investing in women doesn’t pay off
The truth: closing gender gaps will actually lead to an increase in global GDP
Iversen references a recent McKinsey Global Institute report that found that if women play an identical role in labor markets to that of men, as much US$28 trillion or 26% could be added to global annual GDP by 2025.
The myth: women’s income is not used any differently than men’s income
The truth: a greater percentage of women’s income is reinvested in their families and communities
This spending drives improved access to education, nutrition and healthcare, says Iversen. Evidence also shows that it is not merely a woman’s increased income, but rather her control over that income that helps her achieve economic empowerment.
A study in Brazil indicated that the likelihood of a child’s survival increased by 20% when the mother made financial choices. But Iversen notes that economic decisions by women are “intricately wrapped up” in cultural and social issues relating to gender, age, ethnic background, health or physical status, and overall social hierarchy.
The myth: women choose to work less than men
The truth: women shoulder a greater burden of unpaid work, and have fewer paid work opportunities
Women don’t work less than men; in fact, they often work more, Iversen stresses. The issue, she adds, is that their work is unpaid and often unregistered—rearing children and caring for the elderly rarely produces a paycheck. In some regions like South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, women shoulder up to 90% of unpaid care work. “It’s time to balance the scales,” says Iversen.
The myth: inequality ends as women’s income increases
The truth: it’s giving women control over income that ends inequality
Iversen points to evidence showing that it is not merely a woman’s increased income, but rather her control over that income that helps her achieve economic empowerment.
“When a woman holds the strings to the family purse, that family is more likely to thrive,” she says.
She notes how Brazil’s Bolsa Familia Program, which is like the Philippines’ own Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program but which provides cash transfers directly to the female head of households, was able to account for up to 25% of Brazil’s reduction in inequality and 16% of its drop in extreme poverty.
The myth: women’s groups are not necessary for economic development
The truth: women’s groups—including cooperatives, collectives, farmer groups, business associations, and trade unions—are often the only path to sustainable economic development for many women around the world
Says Iversen: “Women’s groups can offer a safe haven in which women of limited means can pool and maximize resources, manage risk, innovate and experiment, build skills and capacity, mentor and learn from one another, organize and advocate for rights, share care responsibilities, build confidence, and receive key information on everything from market information to nutritional guidance, family planning and reproductive health.”
The myth: family-friendly, gender-responsive policies are not worth the investment
The truth: In the US, every $1 invested in family planning results in $7 of savings; in developing countries like Jordan, $1 can result in as much as $16 in savings. The Copenhagen Consensus showed that every dollar spent on modern contraceptive methods will yield $120 in overall benefits.
In the case of the Philippines, the country enacted five years ago the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10354), or the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law, which guarantees universal access to methods of contraception, fertility control, sexual education, and maternal care. However, the law’s full implementation remains on hold as critics continue to raise strong opposition to the decree.
Iversen also comments that companies that invest in family-friendly, gender-responsive policies have found high returns on their investments, including reduced absenteeism and increased productivity.
The article says that harmful myths like these “continue to limit women as they seek careers, advance in the workplace, and seek access to capital—especially in the most economically disadvantaged parts of the world.”
It further observes that such myths do not just impede women on a personal level, they also hinder their collective progress. “The data and research above tell a different story about the exponential power of women. Growth is possible. Prosperity is possible. And it becomes a reality with women in the driver’s seat,” says Iversen. – RCA
Photo: Tamaki Sono
by rossanahead | Feb 16, 2017 | Uncategorized
I’ve always believed in the power of stories. Countless life stories of different people have inspired me throughout my student life and career. Through story-telling, people get to realize that if he/she was able to do it, I can do it too.
This is why I’ve always dreamt of creating a platform for women to tell the stories of their success in career, business, family and other walks of life. At first, I wanted to showcase them in a blog, which brought me to create this website and iamaworkingwoman.com, but I figured it’s not enough. Then, I thought of a radio show when Inquirer Radio invited me to put up one. But I realized that there is another way that I can inspire more women – books.
I have decided to come up with a book series called SMART SUPERWOMEN. This book series will serve as an avenue for women who are successful in their own fields inspire others to be successful as well.
The first book lined up is called WHAT IS THE RIGHT BUSINESS FOR ME? AND OTHER ENTREPRENEURIAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED. This book targets women who aspire to be entrepreneurs. In this book, the most common questions about starting a business will be answered by successful women entrepreneurs and myself. This book will also provide tips about marketing, human resources, choosing the best location for a business and a many more.
The second book to be published is STRATEGIES OF SMART SUPERWOMEN. This is a collection of real-life stories of entrepreneurs, educators, housewives, corporate workers, Presidents/CEOs, public servants and other women from different industries. This book aims to teach the readers how to be the best in what they do, no matter what their choice of career is.
These are just two of many other books I want to publish for this series. I’m excited to share the amazing tales of Smart Superwomen who deserve recognition for all their courage and hard work.
Cheers to all women out there!
Rossana L. Llenado
by rossanahead | Feb 15, 2017 | business, career, Existing Business, family, parenting
Every woman’s situation is unique, but all women, whatever path they take, can always find opportunities for personal, professional, or business growth. The secret is to look for the opportunities that are present everywhere, whether in the home, in the office, even in your hobby room.
Here, meet three women who did just that: They mined their personal circumstances, passion, and creativity to bring their game to the next level and score financial success.
Mommy Problems—Solved!
When Janice Villanueva became a mom, she had to deal with all kinds of motherhood issues. One time, while breast-feeding her child at the mall, her chest was accidentally exposed. This unfortunate experience, however, drove her to launch her first venture, a clothing line she called Mommy Matters.
“These look like regular clothes but they have a panel that opens up,” she says of the nursing wear she produces. “There’s a hidden slip that you just lift up so that when you are breast-feeding, you don’t look like you are.”
As her child grew older, Janice started to realize how much mommies need specific information relating to practical parenting. And since she was also in the industry of publishing, she decided to publish a book entitled Mommy Pages, a directory for moms containing relevant information such as useful listings and details on party planners and child-friendly restaurants, among others.
Meanwhile as she continued to give seminars to other mothers about proper breast-feeding, a friend suggested that she do events as well. Hesitant at first, Janice took the plunge after her friend promised to place ads in her book if she would do an event for her.
Thus, Janice’s events company “Creative Juice” was born in 2000. She has since then been organizing all kinds of events, and several years ago, she re-branded her mommy events and launched Mommy Mundo, a go-to portal of resources for moms.
The Writer Who Won’t Quit
When she was still a student, author Marlene Legaspi-Munar loved to read. “In elementary I read the Nancy Drew detective series,” she says. “When I reached high school, I turned to reading romantic novels like Mills & Boon and Barbara Cartland. Because I loved romantic stories, I thought I’d write my own.”
At 16, she wrote her first story, and it was published in a magazine. Encouraged, she pitched more articles to magazines and sent book proposals to publishers. But unlike her first article, many of her drafts were rejected.
“Early in my career, I would feel so bad after receiving rejection letters from editors,” she says. “I found comfort in reading about other writers whose works had been rejected, too. I learned that, sometimes, it’s not that your material is bad, but maybe you just sent your material to the wrong publication, meaning, the publisher doesn’t publish your kind of story. So you have to find the right home for your manuscript.”
With this insight, she managed to get two of her works published in the same year—a textbook and a short romantic fiction. Several books likewise saw print later on, including Life in the Middle: The Search for a Satisfying and Significant Midlife and How to Keep Your Hubby Happy at iba pang Tips para kay Misis.
For budding writers who want to get published, here is Marlene’s advice: “Keep reading, keep writing, and keep rewriting. Don’t be afraid of criticism. Be humble and learn from your mistakes. Do your research. Be on the lookout for magazines or publications seeking contributions. Study carefully what publishers are looking for and craft your material accordingly. Follow submission guidelines carefully. Be patient while waiting for the right time.”
Wear Your Confidence
As far back as she can remember, fashion has always been one of the great loves of businesswoman Audrey Quitayen. But even back then, she believed that no matter how beautiful your clothes are, you’ll never stand out without self-confidence.
“A woman can still be sexy, glamorous and beautiful the way God has created her even without showing so much skin,” she says. “So I decided to start a business that is bent on giving women some confidence through pieces and accessories that stand out.”
Her venture, Pieces N’ Creations, sells handcrafted products, wedding accessories, art pieces, and souvenirs. The trademark of her business is the handcrafted satin flower found in the art and fashion products she and her partner sell.
Audrey explains that she came up with the name Pieces N’ Creations from the idea that by using creativity, “you can make some creations from scratch, using different pieces of available materials, to come out with unique creations.”
One of the best things about putting up this kind of business is that not only does it require relatively little capital, but it’s a social enterprise that creates job opportunities for women in many communities, adds Audrey.
Photo: Reynermedia
by rossanahead | Feb 12, 2017 | career, Education, Existing Business
By Rowena Diocton
There’s no denying it. Women have grown way beyond their traditional roles of housekeeping and child rearing. According to the April 2016 Philippine Labor Force Survey, nearly 17 million Filipino women are part of the country’s total labor force, nurturing careers in various industries, from agriculture and manufacturing to education and finance and insurance. These days, there really is nothing that Filipinas can’t do.
Still, there are major bumps on the road to career growth. Filipino career women remain at risk of the gender pay gap and stereotypes that come with being a driven, goal-oriented woman. As such, it pays to know where the Filipina careerist stands in the big picture. Here, we take a look at the facts surrounding Filipina workers and the challenges they continue to face.
1. Majority of Filipina workers are between 25 and 34.
The labor force survey mentioned earlier reveals that roughly one in 10 workers in the country is a woman between the ages of 25 and 34. Women in this age range have likely worked for at least four years after finishing a four-year college course.
2. Filipina workers dominate in several key industries.
According to 2014 data provided by JobStreet, an online job search site in the Philippines, Filipinas dominate in industries involved in the following:
- travel/tourism (81%)
- grooming/beauty/fitness (76%)
- gems/jewelry (75%)
- healthcare/medical field (72%)
- biotechnology/pharmaceuticals (71%)
- textiles/garments (70%)
- journalism, banking/financial (69%)
- agriculture (68%)
- wood/fiber/paper production (67%)
- property/real estate, accounting (65%)
3. More and more Pinays with high educational attainment are entering the workforce, contributing to positive economic growth.
In a 2015 survey of women workers in the Asia Pacific, the Asian Development Bank found that the Philippines is the only country in the region to close the gender gap in both education and health survival, owing to the country’s high female literacy and enrollment rate, survival rate, and life expectancy. Many Filipinas with higher education are helping bridge the employment gap between men and women, providing more opportunities for other women to get a higher pay and better positions.
4. More Filipino women are becoming major players in business and legislation.
Strong-willed Filipinas are increasingly exhibiting their capacity to take part in making big decisions that impact the business and legislative sectors. Data from the International Labor Organization showed that more than half (55%) of legislators, senior officials, and managers in the Philippines in 2008 were women. Women are typically underrepresented in decision-making processes, be it in state or business matters. As such, having more women get to top positions means greater opportunity for female representation in issues that affect them.
5. Despite their educational attainment, Filipino women are less likely to join the workforce than Filipino men.
Though they may be highly educated, Filipinas are less likely to join the labor force than their male peers, according to the latest MasterCard Index of Women’s Advancement. Often, socio-cultural factors deter them from doing so. The country’s history may have a hand in this, since Filipina workers have been predisposed to expect discrimination in the workplace.
These facts paint a picture of Filipino women as a resilient group that continue to find ways to prove their worth. There may be hurdles, but the rising number of women in the local workforce and in the top echelons of corporations and institutions shows that they are not going to let anything stop them from reaching their full potentials.
Photo: mUAr cHEe
by rossanahead | Feb 9, 2017 | career, children, Existing Business, family
By Aileen Carreon
As Rose Tanalgo-Meim of Bacolod Chicken Inasal (BCI) has realized, combining a career with motherhood is not an easy task but a juggling act that takes time to master. By making the necessary adjustments and designing effective systems, Rose has gotten better at performing the dual tasks of taking care of her brood of five and handling the marketing, communication, and customer care requirements of their family food business.
Bacolod Chicken Inasal, which Rose manages together with younger siblings JM and Bing, started as a take-out counter in EDSA Central in 1993. The initial eight-seater, open-air counter was eventually replaced with an air-conditioned restaurant upon the prodding of a growing clientele. In 1998, the siblings opened a second restaurant along Jupiter Street in Makati, which was soon followed by a string of new branches in Metro Manila, mostly located in major malls. In the early 2000s, a commissary was put up and systems were put in place as their operations continued to grow.
It was during this time that Rose got married to Paul and soon after became pregnant. “We were heavy on the Ysabella’s Chicken (a tie-up with TV network ABS-CBN) and opening several branches,” recalls Rose. Being young, energetic, and healthy, she didn’t take time out from work even as her family grew.
“When I had my first baby, I would bring her to the office. I even tried to breastfeed and bring the pump to work. But you don’t want babies to be in the car all the time or be in a building. So I studied how I could best manage.”
Rose concedes she was not good at it in the beginning. “I was still a workaholic. I wanted to cover so much and would lose track of time. You go home tired. My kids remember mom trying to read them a story then in the middle of it, falling asleep.”
As her kids got older, Rose made a conscious effort to change her work habits. “I can’t have late nights and come home after dinner or spend the whole day out. I can’t afford to just see my children in the morning before they leave for school.”
Establishing a Home Office
She now maintains a work station at home. “I target three times a week of physically being in the office. But there are times it’s less, and other times it’s more. It all depends on the schedule of the kids and the requirements at work.”
Technology has made it easier to manage the business from home, like dealing with suppliers for marketing and communication materials. Discussions and brainstorming are done through messenger.
On the days she reports to the office, Rose makes sure to be home by dinnertime at the latest. The same goes for her husband. In the morning, she wakes up early to get the kids ready for class and have breakfast together as a family. She then sends the kids off to school with words of encouragement.
Rose is also a committed parent volunteer in school, for which she gets to spend additional time with her children, four of whom are in grades six, five, four, and two, while the youngest is in kindergarten.
Setting Up Effective Systems
To keep track of the needs of her two daughters and three sons, Rose uses a white board system at home. She has a small board for plotting the activities of the kids for the whole month, like field trips, exams, and varsity practices, and scheduling in major family events like birthdays. A bigger one is used as a weekly calendar that details the daily activities of her kids each week.
“The ultimate goal is for each of them to be responsible for their own work. But at their ages you still have to remind them. If there’s a quiz scheduled for the week, we can remind them to review earlier. By knowing the kids’ activities, like violin lessons, varsity practice, or competition, we’re also guided as to the time they should be picked up from school,” shares Rose.
She has also implemented what she calls the four o’clock system. Each school day, at four in the afternoon, Rose checks her kids’ assignment notebooks, no matter where she is. “When I’m out, the yaya would take pictures of the assignment notebooks and send me via Viber. So I’m always informed.”
“I take a look at what needs to be done and gauge if they would need tutorial assistance, because I know my kids’ capabilities and weaknesses,” she adds. “That’s my system, to first check what is needed so I can support it. If they need to bring stuff to school, I can pick it up on my way home or give the necessary instructions to our help.”
Rose acknowledges the importance of a good team of helpers and reveals that she hires based on attitude rather than skills, which can be learned anyway. “You need a team that you can trust and that have values aligned with yours because they’re part of the family.”
At work, her dependable BCI staff makes things easier. “We have a very organic corporation. We have employees who are from Bacolod and who have been with us since the start. They are trustworthy and dependable. Each one has a specialization so we know whom to tap for specific requirements. It’s good to have a team to back you up.”
Importance of Family Support
The support of her family is also invaluable. “I’m on top of things, so much so that I know every detail in the menu, the posters. If you move the logo, I’ll know it,” she says. “I’m so thankful that in our family corporation, it’s OK to not be present in the office for as long as you are delivering your work.”
In two years’ time, Bacolod Chicken Inasal will be celebrating 25 years of operation. That’s quite an achievement for three siblings who were fresh out of college when they put up a food business that introduced to Metro Manila residents the chicken inasal and other dishes they loved while growing up in Bacolod.
“We are very blessed to have been able to maintain the business this long and to still be poised for future growth. I’m lucky to be in a family business because my work becomes an extension of my relationship with my family,” says Rose.
While her top priority is her family, she also highly values her work and thinks that no business will thrive if the owners are not involved. Besides, she believes that managing the business well today is ensuring that the next generation inherits a thriving family enterprise years from now.
Photo: Ramon FVelasquez
